Visions of Earth by National Geographic

August 2009: Mexico—Thirteen feet and a thousand-plus pounds of great white shark bump a diver's cage and roil the waters off Guadalupe Island. The region, rich in seal and sea lion rookeries, is a hot spot for the powerful predators. Photograph by Brandon Cole

Cerro de Sorte, Venezuela—Surrounded by candles symbolizing regeneration, followers of a cult centered on the local goddess María Lionza wait for cleansing during an hour-long ritual. Photograph by Cristina Garcia Rodero

Tonga—Plumes of ash, smoke, and steam billow thousands of feet into the air as an undersea volcano erupts on the uninhabited island of Hunga Ha'apai. The fallout, rock detritus known as scoria, has since enlarged the landmass. Photograph by Dana Stephenson

India—Decorated in pink powder, a bull dives through a crowd of men who hope to hang on to the animal long enough to win a prize. The sport, jallikattu, is part of harvest celebrations in the Tamil Nadu town of Alanganallur. Photograph by Palani Mohan

Tanzania—After two weeks of in-mouth incubation, a school of perhaps 200 cichlid fry—each less than half an inch long—swim free of their mother, searching for a plankton meal in the cerulean waters of Lake Tanganyika. Photograph by Angel M. Fitor

Gulf of Aqaba—Surrounded by thousands of golden sweepers, photographer Magnus Lundgren spun his camera to capture this shifting school off Elat, Israel. After 200 tries he got it: a whirlpool of four-inch fish. Photograph by Lundgren

India—In Jammu, a flower of flame blooms from a man's kerosene-filled mouth. Devotees of Sikhism, the world's fifth largest organized religion, were marking the 342nd birthday of Guru Gobind Singh, a founder of the faith. Photograph by Jaipal Singh

Xinjiang—A column of dunes could provide geologic data for sand-sampling scientists, whose trucks scratch tracks across the wind-scoured Kumtag Desert. Photograph by George Steinmetz

United States—A brown tornado towers perhaps 4,000 feet above the parched plains of Kansas. In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. The mark was short-lived, though: 187 tore through in 2008. Photograph by Jim Reed

South Africa—Green tree pythons coil when comfortable. Though this snake is a pet in Pretoria, the species is native to northern Australia and New Guinea. In the wild its coloration lends cover for a life spent mostly in trees. Photograph by Martin Harvey

Antarctica—Not far from its Franklin Island colony, a lone Adélie punctuates the looping scrawl of penguin tracks across plates of Ross Sea pack ice. Some 2.7 million of the birds populate the Ross Sea region. Photograph by John B. Weller

United States—The shuttle Endeavour—deft in orbit but incapable of terrestrial flight—catches a post-mission piggyback on a 747, soaring over California's Mojave Desert en route to Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Photograph by Carla Thomas

United States—A red-clay spray showers spectators at the mud-pit belly flop, highlight of the annual Summer Redneck Games in East Dublin, Georgia. Other events include a hubcap-discus throw and bobbing for pigs' feet. Photograph by Sol Neelman

Belarus—Naked on an 18°F day, Valentsin Tolkachev clears an icy canal for swimming. The 69-year-old started the Optimalists—a Minsk-based club with 200-some members—in 1989 to promote hale activities in rural settings. Photograph by Vasily Fedosenko,Reuters

Kenya—Hungry lions in a Masai Mara pride leave little of a wildebeest. "The animals were so involved eating that I was able to drive very close and take a picture standing on my car's roof," says photographer Michel Denis-Huot. Photograph by Christine and Michel Denis-Hout

South Georgia Island—A snowy morning offers a peaceful study in contrasts as southern elephant seals and king penguins share a rookery. Antarctic spring brings some 400,000 of each species to this remote British territory. Photograph by Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott

California—As his mother scatters his ashes from a lifeguard boat, friends of Emery Kauanui, Jr., gather in a memorial paddle-out off La Jolla's Windansea Beach on June 9, 2007. The pro surfer, 24, died the previous month. Photograph by K.C. Alfred

England—Lost in a wending laurel maze at Cornwall's Glendurgan—a series of verdant subtropical gardens planted privately in the 1820s and bequeathed to the National Trust in 1962—two visitors huddle in a hut. Photograph by Bob Krist

Sweden—The facial disk of feathers circling this great gray owl's eyes channel forest-floor sounds back to its ears, helping the bird pounce on a vole and carry it away. Photograph by Magnus Elander

Indonesia—See dusk in the Dampier Strait through a half-submerged lens and glimpse two distinct worlds. Under a cloud-slung sky, fishermen work on wooden boats. Beneath a mirror-calm surface, waters flash with baitfish. Photograph by David Doubilet

United States—Like brushes saturated with paint, the wing scales of a sunset moth drip with color. Shot in a Washington State photo studio using a microscope, their iridescence is revealed only in this close-up view. Photograph by Charles Krebs

Zambia—The 355-foot (108 meter) drop of Victoria Falls just inches away, a swimmer stands at the lip of a hidden pool—an eight-foot-deep (2 meter) divot in the riverbed rock—accessible only when the Zambezi River runs low. Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt

China—A member of a ceremonial honor guard inspects his cohort's alignment, making sure it's suitable for the arrival of world leaders at the 2008 Asia-Europe Meeting, held at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. Photograph by Ng Han Guan

Azerbaijan—The carcass of an abandoned amusement park ride is a diving platform for teens on a Caspian Sea beach near Baku. Despite the nation's oil and gas boom, almost half of Azerbaijanis live in poverty. Photograph by Remi Benali

United Arab Emirates—Peninsulas of prosperity, the "fronds" of the $14-billion Palm Jumeirah—the first of three planned resort islands in Dubai—jut into the Persian Gulf. Building began in 2001; it may end in 2013. Photograph by Alexander Heilner

Thailand—In a race to emerge at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, one eight-inch Siamese crocodile wins by a head. Few such crocs exist in the wild, yet 20,000 are born each year during the zoo's May-to-August hatching festival. Photograph by Sukree Sukplang

Democratic Republic of the Congo—The silverback Senkwekwe, one of six mountain gorillas slain in Virunga National Park last July, is carried from the crime scene. Fewer than 700 remain in the wild. Photograph by Brent Stirton

Djibouti—A break in training exercises lets Marine Cpl. Brett Herman try out his break-dancing moves during a "freestyle" contest at Camp Lemonier. The former French barracks is the sole U.S. base on the Horn of Africa. Photograph by Jeremy Lock

Brazil—Butterflies spatter the shoreline of the Juruena River in Brazil’s new 4.7-million-acre (2 million hectares) Juruena National Park. Several different species flock to the riverbanks to sip mineral salts from the sand. Photograph by Zing Koch

Madagascar—Sunrise reveals light traffic—a lone oxcart—along the Avenue of the Baobabs. The 80-foot-tall "upside-down trees" in the Menabe region could become the island country's first national monument. Photograph by Marsel van Oosten

Bhutan—Novices at the Dechen Phodrang monastic school in Thimphu hear the dinner bell and come running. More than 400 boys attend the academy, where a typical day of study stretches from 5 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Photograph by Scott A. Woodward

Iceland—Branches of the Kolgrima River flow across flatlands leading from Vatnajökull—Iceland’s largest glacier—to the sea. Milky tones in the water are from pale silt; the blue is a reflection of the sky. Photograph by Hans Strand

England—Like a porcelain figurine carved into repose, the fetus of a foal floats in a jar. The 85-day-old, 5.5-inch-long colt was removed postmortem and preserved in formaldehyde after its mother, a Thoroughbred, died. Photograph by Tim Flach

Netherlands—To honor 25 years of Terschelling island’s Oerol theater festival, 2,000 people lined up along 25 giant rings of sand sculpted on the beach, in what artist Rob Sweere called “a silent conversation with the sky.” Photograph by Marc Vreuls

Italy—11,000 feet (3,400 meters) into the Sicilian sky, Mount Etna ranks among the planet’s most active volcanoes. This eruption photographed last December was part of a cycle of activity that began in July 2006. Photograph by Olivier Grunewald

Indonesia—On the first day of Ramadan, in a mosque filled with white-robed women, one child stands up and stands out. During the month-long holiday, Muslims seeking spiritual purification fast from dawn till dusk. Photograph by Sigit Pamungkas

Ethiopia—The infernal glow of a lava lake in the Ertale volcano rivals moonrise over the Danakil Desert. Molten surface temperatures range from 550°F (260° Celsius) near the 262-foot-high (80 meters) walls to nearly 1000°F (538° Celsius) at the center of the pit. Photograph by Olivier Grunewald

Bulgaria—Epiphany Day at an icy Sofia lake finds young men in hot pursuit. Belief holds that the first to reach the wooden cross, thrown by an Eastern Orthodox priest, will enjoy a year of good health. Photograph by Dimitar Dilkoff

China—A few dynamite seconds reduced Shenyang’s 60,000-seat Wulihe Stadium to rubble and dust. Chinese soccer fans mourned: Their men’s team qualified for a World Cup final for the first time here in 2001. Photograph by Xie Huanchi

Philippines—Children gaze at the storybook sight of a partial solar eclipse over Manila Bay. The result of a syzygy—an instance when the Earth, moon, and sun are aligned—it was visible on parts of four continents. Photograph by Gil Nartea

China—Workers apply a rust-resistant primer to a coal-fired power plant in Huaibei, a major industrial center. Soon they'll paint it black, adding a second, waterproof coat to this 470-foot-tall cooling tower. Photograph by Reuters/China Daily

Queensland, Australia—Massive clouds called morning glories roil over the Gulf of Carpentaria. Most common in September and October—and in morning—the clouds can travel across the skies at nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) an hour. Photograph by Barry Slade

Zambia—A lone bull elephant breakfasts at first light near the precipice of Victoria Falls. With the Zambezi River near its seasonal ebb, once submerged walkways—and fresh foraging possibilities—present themselves. Photograph by Marsel van Oosten

Pike National Forest, Colorado—A constellation of blazes dots Grouse Mountain. The fire, which scorched more than 2,300 acres (931 hectares) in a week in April, was the first major fire of Colorado's 2002 season, the state's worst on record. Photograph by Thomas Cooper

Kasanka National Park, Zambia—Dawn lights the wings of straw-colored fruit bats heading home from a night's foraging. Each November, some eight million of the animals return to the same square mile of swampy forest to roost. Photograph by Kieran Dodds

Namib Desert, Namibia—Camouflaged by sand and scales, a Péringuey’s adder hunts in almost total stillness, twitching only its black tail to attract prey. When it does move, this viper slips sideways across the dunes. Photograph by Thomas Dressler

Rift Valley, Tanzania—A camera’s long nighttime exposure reveals the red glow of lava spilling from Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai. The volcano’s lava, which appears brown to the naked eye, has the consistency of olive oil. Photograph by Olivier Grunewald

Greenland—An iceberg reveals a glimpse of the southern Greenland town of Narsaq. A nearby glacier births a steady supply of bergs that jostle off the settlement's shores year-round. Photograph by NIck Cobbing

Pakistan—Women and children await registration and relief at the Jalozai refugee camp. Since last summer, some one million Pakistanis have fled the fighting between the military and militants near the Afghan border. Photograph by Emilio Morenatti

Chile—The fury of Chaitén volcano seems to set the sky on fire. Highly charged particles of pumice roar upward in spreading clouds of gas and smoke, generating crackling tangles of lightning. Photograph by Carlos Gutierrez

Greenland—Eight hundred miles south of the North Pole, a cavern of stalactite-like stratus clouds—churned by 90-mile-an-hour winds—and the light of a bruised dawn paint an apocalyptic portrait over Inglefield Bay. Photograph by Bryan and Cherry Alexander

Photos via National Geographic